Biff Tannen

Biff H. Tannen
Back to the Future character
Thomas F. Wilson as 1955 Biff Tannen
Portrayed by	Thomas F. Wilson
Voiced by	Thomas F. Wilson Kid Beyond (Telltale Videogame, Original release version)
Appearances	Part I Part II Part III The Animated Series The Ride The Game
Information
Gender	Male
Time travel
Original time	1955, 1985, 1985A, 2015
Years visited	1955 (from 2015)

Biff Howard Tannen is a fictional character in the Back to the Future trilogy. Thomas F. Wilson plays Biff in all three films as well as the Universal Studios ride, and voiced the character in the animated series. He is the main antagonist of the first two films, and a minor neutral character in the third film (which dealt with his great-grandfather).^[1]

Biff is a towering, violent and selfish bully who obtains what he wants by intimidating others into doing his work for him, or by cheating. He and his family members have a tendency to misuse idioms in a way that makes them appear stupid and pathetic despite their intention to insult or scare, and all share a disdain for manure. His favorite insult is "butthead".

Character biography

Early life

Biff was born in Hill Valley, California. He is the great-grandson of Buford "Mad Dog" Tannen and grandfather of Griff Tannen. Rather than studying in high school, he prefers to bully George McFly into doing his homework for him while he drinks and hangs out with his friends. Biff is feared by most of his schoolmates but is less brave when he is without his gang (Match, Skinhead, and 3-D). He has been living with his grandmother, Gertrude Tannen, at 1809 Mason Street for some time by November 1955.

Relationships

In 1955, Biff had a crush on Lorraine Baines who does not return the sentiments. However, the alternate 1985 reveals that Lorraine ended up marrying Biff so her children could live a better life. In the original 1985, Biff's marital status is unknown as no mention of a wife was ever made in the trilogy.^[2]

Children

By 2015, Biff has a teenage grandson, Griff, suggesting that Biff had at least one child by 1985. The animated series reveals that Biff has a son, Biff Jr.

Character creation

The character was named after Ned Tanen. Writers Bob Gale and Robert Zemeckis had met with Tanen during a script meeting for I Wanna Hold Your Hand, and Ned Tanen had reacted aggressively to their writing, accusing them of trying to produce an anti-semitic film.^[3][4] A draft script reveals that his middle initial is "H" for "Howard".

In October 2015, when attention toward Back to the Future Part II increased, numerous commentators noted the similarities between the older version of Biff Tannen seen in that film and Donald Trump. When this was brought to Gale's attention in an interview, Gale stated that this was intentional and that he had based those elements of Tannen's personality on Trump, who was already well known in the late 1980s for his work in real estate.^[5] The website Snopes.com noted that Gale has not made this claim before, and suggested that the claim may have been created to fit current events.^[6]

References

External links

• Biff Tannen on IMDb